Configuration management in communications networks is the task of keeping an inventory of network devices, knowing the configuration of each device, resetting or updating configurations as the need arises, and scheduling configuration changes. In the past, many of these tasks were done manually or by software packages built specifically for a particular device.
A "configuration" is defined as a particular setting of device parameters that govern the operational characteristics of a network device. In communications networks, the devices that are routinely configured are routers, bridges and hubs, and examples of device parameters include port thresholds, on/off switches, access security, etc.
In the prior art, one method of network configuration is to manually configure a network device. In this case, a user physically attaches a dumb terminal to the network device and issues configuration commands through the terminal's keyboard. A disadvantage of this method is that one cannot retrieve or store information regarding the configuration of a device.
A second known method is to make configuration changes with a software package built specially for a network device type. A disadvantage of this method is that one cannot configure different device types simultaneously. Examples of commercially available tools that allow one to configure a single type of device include the following: (1) Site Manager, Wellfleet Communications, Inc., 8 Federal Street, Billerica, Mass. 01821; and (2) Cisco Works, 1525 O'Brien Drive, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025.
Thus, the primary disadvantages of the prior art include:
a user can manually configure only one device at a time; PA1 a user must know the desired configuration before making a change; PA1 a user must manually check to see if in fact the desired change took place; PA1 existing tools utilize only one network management protocol (e.g., the simple network management protocol--SNMP) to manage the device; and PA1 existing tools are specialized for one particular type of device (e.g., Cisco routers). PA1 enables configuration of several network devices at the same time; PA1 enables retrieval of a configuration from a device, storage of a configuration, and downloading of the configuration to other devices; PA1 verifies that configurations have taken place and generates reports and/or alarms when configuration operations are unsuccessful; PA1 enables automatic scheduling of configuration retrieval, loading and/or verification; PA1 enables configuration of a wide variety of different network devices.
A third known method is to define a number of individual devices of specific types as policy domains, and apply policies to the policy domains. A disadvantage of this method is that this method is only applicable to a limited number of specific types of devices. Examples of commercially available tools that allow one to define specific types of devices as groups include the following: Tivoli Works, TIVOLI Systems, Inc., 6034 West Courtyard Drive, Suite 210, Austin Tex. 78730; and MaestroVision, Calypso Software Systems, Inc., 1 Sundial Avenue, Suite 410, Manchester, N.H. 03103.
In general, the prior art methods are time-consuming, expensive, error prone, and limited in terms of the operations that can be performed.